Alternative investments solution developer iCapital Network has received an undisclosed investment from Blackstone.
The new investor joins BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse Group AG, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and UBS Financial Services, as a shareholder.
As a strategic partner and investor, Blackstone will help iCapital with its technology development.
There are additional investors expected to join the round before it closes.
iCapital is an online investment platform helping to give individual investors access to the alternatives market, with a minimum investment value of £100,000 per fund. Its end-to-end solution supports unique subscription, administration and reporting processes for private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and other alternative investments.
The platform also gives wealth management firms, private banks and broker-deals access to market research.
iCapital Network CEO Lawrence Calcano said, “We’re honoured to have Blackstone as a shareholder, adding to the list a global leader in alternative investing, supporting our efforts to deliver the definitive technology solution for alternative investments.
“Increasingly, we are seeing a melding of two worlds: finance and technology. With the rise of fintech, the financial services industry is being transformed. We are particularly excited to be at the forefront of that opportunity for the alternative investments sector.”
Last year, the company raised an undisclosed investment from BlackRock and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Following the round, the company’s total equity funding had reached $50m, but it is unclear what the new total is.
The company acquired the Private Equity Access Fund Platform from Deutsche Bank last year. The purchase included 33 funds which represent a variety of investment strategies, with around $2.5bn invested in assets and over 7000 domestic and international investors.
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